As Republicans, we have always been good at finding those things that divide us, magnifying those divisions, and sitting around in a circular firing squad while weak and unqualified Democrats clean our clocks on election day.

Will Ralph Northam be the next clueless Democrat to sneak into the governor’s mansion as Virginia Republicans take turns rubbing salt into one another’s political wounds?

It is looking like that may be the case.

One of the biggest problems is our lack of unity as a Party. And that is on each and every person who calls themselves a Republican in the Commonwealth. We must learn to set aside our petty differences and unify behind the Candidates were selected to oppose the Democrats. Northern Virginia is crawling with left wing ideologues and Progressives who would enslave everyone in Virginia if left to their far left theories and opinions that have failed everywhere they have been tried.

We all managed to come together in 2009 as Bob McDonnell was an acceptable candidate to Republicans across the spectrum. The right blend of Conservative and enough of an insider to appeal to both the left, right and center of the party. But when McDonnell abandoned Conservative fiscal policy and gave Virginia the largest tax hike in the history of the Commonwealth and spent a lot of time digging for gold in Jonnie Williams pockets, he put the party into a tailspin from which we have not yet recovered.

And the Virginia GOP was furthered damaged when former Lt. Governor Bill Bolling pitched an embarrassing “Hillary-like” public hissy fit because he would be forced to run for the nomination he believed was supposed to be his – unopposed. And then withdrew. And so did the left wing of the party on election day. As Mark Obenshain amassed 92,000 more votes in his bid to Attorney General than Ken Cuccinelli did in his bid for governor. Which is a good indication that Republicans had the turnout to win in 2013, as demonstrated by votes for Obenshain, but 92,000 failed to vote for the Republican candidate.

So we learned that a house divided will not stand. The Democrats will win if the Republicans stay home or fail to cast a vote for the Republican nominee.

The year after the Virginia Gubernatorial race was handed to left wing operative Terry McAuliffe by obstinate Republican RINO’s who refused to vote for Cuccinelli, our current GOP Candidate for Governor Ed Gillespie ran against sitting Senator and former Governor Mark Warner. Polls predicted an embarrassing loss for Gillespie. And in something that no longer surprises, the polls were all wrong as Gillespie lost by less than 18,000 votes receiving 1,055,940 votes to Warner’s 1,073,667. Many of the 1,104,138 votes that Obenshain received for Attorney General the previous November didn’t show up for Gillespie. Nearly 50,000 in fact. Which would have been enough to send Mark Warner into retirement.

We will never know precisely who voted in 2013 and 2014, and who didn’t. But when we speculate on who didn’t vote for Cuccinelli but voted for Obenshain in 2013, odds are that the left wing factions of the GOP voted for Obenshain for Attorney General and did not cast a vote for Cuccinelli. And then in 2014, a lot of Conservatives failed to vote for Gillespie.

But between the two groups, it looks like more on the right are willing to hold their nose and show up and vote for a candidate they really don’t like than the left wing of the Party. And the numbers show if the Virginia GOP was united, we have the numbers to sweep the top three offices in November.

So how do we get to that point?

Where is the Republican Party of Virginia’s leadership, specifically Chairman John Whitbeck and Executive Director John Findlay? What are they actually doing to unite the party? Sadly, nothing that I can see. Oh, I get the emails. “Democrat so an so said this. Bla Bla Bla. Send us your money!”

And then Findley, acting like a trained monkey, forwards the same email to the same list with a “Did you see this?” subject a day later.

So yea, they have to send these emails out to collect money to pay themselves. But what about the job they are being paid to do? You know, ensure Republicans win elections in Virginia? Unifying a fractured party?

The Republican president has a job approval rating around 40 percent. The GOP has an unfavorability rating around 56 percent. And Republicans trail Democrats by nine points in an average of “generic ballot” polls.

All of which makes it notable that the Republican National Committee is trouncing the Democratic National Committee when it comes to raising money, especially from small donors.

For 2017 so far, the RNC has raised $75.4 million to the DNC’s $38.2 million.

The RNC started the year with $25.3 million in cash on hand. Now it has $44.7 million. The DNC started the year with $10.5 in cash on hand. Now, that has fallen to $7.5 million.

As of June 30, the RNC reported $0 in debt. The DNC reported $3.3 million in debt.

A look inside the numbers is even worse for the DNC. Looking at collections from small donors — that is, those who contributed less than $200 — the RNC raised $10.5 million in the months of May and June. The DNC raised $5.3 million from small donors in the same time period.

The RNC’s money total is a record — more than was raised in any previous non-presidential election year. That is true for June, and for all of 2017 as well. The $75.4 million raised this year compares to $55.4 million for the same period in 2015; to $51.2 for the same period in 2014; to $41.1 million for the same period in 2013, and so on going back.

The Virginia House Democratic Caucus today announced that Democratic candidates have outraised their Republican opponents in 21 Republican-held districts for the reporting period ending June 30.

The Caucus itself yesterday announced it had ended the June 30 reporting period with more than $1 million in the bank.

“Democrats are energized and organized in every corner of the Commonwealth, as our strong fundraising numbers show,” said House Democratic Leader David J. Toscano. “We are even outraising Republicans in rural districts that have previously gone uncontested. These numbers speak to the quality, not just the quantity, of candidates we have recruited and trained. While Republicans in Richmond and in Washington are focused on denying people health care, our candidates are running with a strong economic message that includes expanding access to affordable health care for all Virginians.”

“Our candidates are deeply connected to their communities, which they have served as teachers, nurses, reporters and small business owners,” said Caucus Chair Charniele Herring. “Given their commitment to their communities, it is no surprise that they have earned such strong grassroots support. Democrats will continue to stand up to Donald Trump and the Republicans in Richmond who mimic his policies – from denying people health care to voting to defund Planned Parenthood.”

The reasons for the current divide stem mostly from the animosity that still exists between the #NeverTrumpers and many who were formerly Ted Cruz supporters. And there is a big overlap in the Cruz supporters and #NeverTrump crowd.

Much of the heated social media dialog between these two factions never stopped when Trump won the nomination. And in Virginia, the “rivalry” carried over into this year’s GOP Primary as the same battle lines that were drawn between the supporters of Cruz and Trump simply migrated to Riggleman vs Corey Stewart and when Riggleman dropped out of the race for Governor, it became Gillespie vs Stewart.

I had hoped that when Trump won the Primary that things would calm down. And certainty after Trump won the Presidency. But among the political activists, it really hasn’t. It simply morphed into the next race.

Besides the RPV’s failure to work to unite the party, Ed Gillespie needs to tell his supporters that the primary is over. And continued battle with Stewart supporters is not going to help Ed win in November.

Republicans have the numbers. And with Ralph Northam calling the Republican President things like “narcissist in Chief” and spreading absolute untruths about Republican policies, true leadership would find a way to unite the Party against the true enemy. The Democrats. And I don’t mean using another “send money” email complete with monkey echo.

I was an early Trump supporter. I was a Corey Stewart supporter. And I still am.

But I will vote for Ed Gillespie for Governor, Jill Vogel (whom I endorsed in the primary) for Lt. Governor, and John Adams for Attorney General.

Republicans can sweep this race this year. We have the numbers to do it. But we will need everyone who calls themselves a Republican to turn out and vote Republican in November. And stop the useless bickering that is getting us nowhere and pull together.

Or at a minimum, shut up and vote GOP in November.

And please John Whitbeck, stop mailing this election in as if you are uninterested. At least make the rounds in person and acknowledge and address the divide in the party. Being a commercial isn’t enough. You have developed a reputation as an establishment Republican and a “head in the sand” leader. You must either inspire the state GOP to get behind our ticket, or resign and let someone with an aptitude for fair and impartial leadership take over. Not only does this year’s election hang in the balance, but the Senate next year as well.

Tom is a US Navy Veteran, owns an Insurance Agency and is currently an IT Manager for a Virginia Distributor. He has been published in American Thinker, currently writes for the Richmond Examiner as well as Virginia Right! Blog.Tom lives in Hanover County, Va and is involved in politics at every level and is a Recovering Republican who has finally had enough of the War on Conservatives in progress with the Leadership of the GOP on a National Level.

Never been elected to or held public office- was a car parker for the RNC. Son of NJ Democrats. Does Lobbyist jump out at you and bite you in the A**? His partner Jack Quinn was a Democrat. Uniparty? Swamp? What in God’s name were the Republicans thinking nominating him to run against a Virginia native son, a VMI Graduate, A medical doctor- pediatric neurologist, a Gulf War Combat Veteran, a former State Senator, and a Sitting Lt. Governor in a state with the lowest unemployment rate in a decade?

Party of Stupid doesn’t begin to describe the Republican Party of Virginia in 2017 under John Whitbeck.

Dominion Energy’s lobbyist is McGuire Woods. CEOs of each are brothers in law. Keepin’ it all in the family. Henrico Delegate Peter Farrell, son of Tom Farrell, CEO of Dominion Energy and nephew of McGuire Woods CEO is the biggest conflict of interest in the General Assembly. Good riddance and welcome John McGuire in November. And you wonder why the Democrats are winning in Virginia? Really? YOU could support more of that from the Republican Party Mr. White?

Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline will blast off Virginia mountain tops and cut through Virginia’s pristine National Forests for energy to sell overseas. For Profit. And the Sheeple who vote (R) blindly have no idea why the GOP paved the way for John Adams from McGuire Woods to become the Republican nominee for Attorney General without a single vote cast. Would have loved to be in the meeting with Rob Bell when they took him out of the AG race. Big Energy’s EnRon Ed Gillespie and Dominion’s McGuire Woods Attorney General candidate John Adams spell ecological disaster for the Commonwealth. Wait until they Mine Uranium in Pittsylvania County and contaminate the drinking water for millions of people to sell Uranium to Communist enemies overseas. Iran? North Korea? Russia? If you think this slate of GOP candidates on the ballot in November won’t open up Cole’s Hill for the Uranium mining worth billions in their pockets you are sadly mistaken.

​”​We need to deprive them and their political action committees from giving money to our elected officials; lest the Old Dominion become the Commonwealth of Dominion Power​”

It’s as if Tucker has no idea whatsoever that this John Adams candidate he loves for Attorney General has a brother who is a lobbyist for said utility and can’t comprehend the potential conflicts of interest….. that’s what happens when The Bull Elephant hires a Circle K gas station attendant as a Blogger for Republican opinion pieces.

We seem to have these well meaning and impassioned expositions on the state of the Virginia Republican Party every year around the final days coming up to the statewide elections. One flaw I see in my opinion of this plea is the base premise “that we must learn to set aside our ‘petty’ differences and unify” I have to ask are the differences truly petty in nature or rather very fundamental and politically distinguishing to the point of open schism. I grant a petty grievance can be put aside but a major political deviation is not so easy to reconcile with happy words and meaningless promises of future co-operation.

The problem here is the state’s Republican establishment has eroding control over Richmond and what little effective party apparatus that exists in the state and the evolving post Trump election voter base is being leached away from it’s traditional Richmond candidates at an alarming rate. Since what is in play here is power, even in a context of shrinking Republican influence to a growing Democratic opposition, the traditional Virginia Republican establishment is uninterested in compromise and the voter base is unmoved by the latest genned up cookie cutter candidate produced out of the Richmond machine.

It’s not so much of an impasse as a political transition that may be to slow in working it’s self out to rebuff the growing Democratic advances. I’m of the opinion that it’s the party’s role and responsibility to get on the same page as it’s voting base NOT the other way around. A party that believes it wins by being resistant to change while losing it’s political base in the process frankly will lose and deservedly so. I think we left “petty” in our wake long. long ago. To get firmly re-orientated one faction needs to win and the other needs to lose. QED.

Mr. Wood, Truer words have never been spoken. Your wisdom in all things Republican in the Commonwealth leaves us in awe.

Years ago Speaker of the House Delegate Bill Howell and Senator Tommy Norment went to the large Republican donors in Virginia and told them don’t donate to candidates. Give the Money to our PACs and we will find the Republican candidates, run them and get them elected. They own it. No grassroots or Tea Party candidates for their Republican caucus.

Fast Forward to Obama Care where Speaker Bill Howell stopped Medicaid expansion dead in its tracks in Virginia. and then Retired. Now it seems that the Republicans in Washington are giving BILLIONs away in their healthcare bill to Republican Governors in states who opted for Medicaid Expansion under Obamacare…. and Virginia loses tens of millions MORE in federal aid. And the Democrats are going to HANG that on Gillespie, and Howell, and Vogel IN NOVEMBER at the voting booth. Poor People DO vote. And Ralph Northam is a doctor who can explain to the voters about the poor children and the elderly who desperately needed Medicaid expansion but the evil Republicans kept it from them.

Mr. White makes a brilliant point here as usual. “Evil Partyl” candidate Ralph Northam who called Trump a “narcissistic maniac” should have seen the nine thousand ship builders in Norfolk Saturday at the Commission ceremony of the USS Gerald R. Ford and Trump’s call for $85 billion more in military spending. IF you were a person dependent on the military industrial complex at the World’s largest Naval operation Saturday YOU were voting Republican in November. But Evil Party candidate Ralph Northam was at a debate trashing Trump while the voters in Virginia Beach were learning their future success in Virginia was tied to Trump and the Republican Party of Virginia.

Now if the “Stupid Party” could only embrace the President, they could win in November.

While I always read and appreciate Tom White’s point of view this is one time when I have to part ways and once again reiterate why conservatives must break ranks and use the 3rd alternative in this years Governor’s race.

We have advanced republicans over and over on two mindsets that have not advanced conservative principles at all.

Winning isn’t governing. Political outcomes no longer insure anything , other than advancing a pols career. May I remind readers one more time their is no difference any longer between the political parties, they both advance bigger government, more spending and higher taxes. The only time you ever even perceive a difference is during campaigns when they trot out their slogans and platitudes. As soon as the election is over you see whomever wins going right back to the progressive play book.

Advancing a principle must carry more weight than winning. Here we are after 7 years of republican promises …..if we only give them the house, then it was………..if we only give them the senate , then if we only give them the white house. Republicans control all 3 branches in DC and they lied once more on repealing the ACA. We have conservatives in the G.A like Del Peace touting the surplus, as if conservatives accomplished this by implementing spending cuts, the reality is the growing tax revenues from a economy creeping along to a very modest improvement.

I’ll advance a principle in November and vote for Cliff Hyra, regardless of the outcome. 8 years of political battle in the trenches, starting 2 TEA Party groups and laboring away won’t allow me to ignore the reality that Gillespie or Northam………it won’t make a dimes worth of difference

Former Congressman Eric Cantor live on Fox Business Network with Maria Bartiromo at this very moment is bragging about the achievement of disastrous Medicare Part D when Republicans worked together with President George W. Bush. Republican gift to Big Pharma to the detriment of the middle class senior citizens whose drug costs skyrocketed as a result.

Imagine bragging about Medicare Part D. And that’s why Cantor was defeated in 2014. More of the Stupid Party?

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R- OH) predicts the GOP will never Repeal and Replace Obamacare. 40 million Americans on Medicaid and growing. Time for another Tea Party Revolution? 2 Republican defectors on key vote today in US Senate to begin debate on Health Care Law – Lisa Murkowski (R- AL) and Susan Collins( R-ME) voted with Democrats. Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie breaking vote. 51-50. Debate begins.

In the end come November, a few Dems will stay home because of the pipeline support from Northam. A few Republicans will stay at home because of Gillespie’s Bush 43′ involvement and his lobby involvement. That will leave Independents like me to make the call.

The Republicans who now own the Virginia House and Senate always perform better looking at the Mansion and knowing there is a Democrat living there. With a Republican Trifecta in downtown Richmond, there is simply no end to the BS legislative follies that they will entertain.

Just look at Washington now to see how bad Republicans are. And the Democrats have doubled down on being stupid. The Dems and Republicans both demand new leadership.

Please help the victims of the National Institute of Justice’s “intelligent surveillance” research. The NIJ is using our taxpayer dollars to violate our constitutional rights, recklessly endanger our lives, and torture us 24/7. Senator Kaine told me that this program funds Newport News Police Department and Virginia state police. Both are required to have a signed informed consent form for each human subject. The NIJ follows the common rule. Citizens need to request the name and contact number for the IRB as well as the grant administrator. We need to ask our senators to defund the NIJ for failure to follow the “common rule” and for violations of our constitutional rights as well as the torture and murder of thousands of innocent citizens. The perps are state and local police. The funding is the NIJ. In addition, cops steal the identity of the victim and use Medicaid to supplement their nonconsensual human subject research. This is a felony. They must allow us to opt out. The NIJ are required by law to pay for our attorney fees, medical expenses, and any change in financial position as well as punitive damages! I now have cancer throughout my body as a direct result of this technology. The NIJ, Newport News Police and Virginia state police are to blame for my cancer and stealing a decade of my life along with Yan Byalik, 105 Beacon Way, Newport News, VA 23606 their IT guy! He keeps his twins on leashes. Are there any attorneys with integrity in the U. S.?